Carboxylic acids in subsurface waters have been proposed as agents for dissolving feldspars and complexing aluminum to create secondary porosity in sandstones. Previously published experimental work indicated high aluminum mobility in the presence of carboxylic acid solutions. In order to further evaluate aluminum mobility, alkali feldspar dissolution experiments were run at 100 degrees C and 300 bars in the presence of mono- and dicarboxylic acids and their anions. Experimental results imply that under reservoir conditions, aluminum-organic anion complexes are insignificant for acetate and propionate and possibly significant for oxalate and malonate. Propionate appeared to inhibit alkali feldspar dissolution and, hence, may retard aluminum mobility. Dissolution of feldsp r in the presence of oxalic and acetic acid can be explained by enhanced dissolution kinetics and greater aluminum mobility under low-pH conditions. The general absence of such low-pH fluids in subsurface reservoirs makes this an unlikely mechanism for creating secondary porosity. Also, the thermal instability of oxalate and malonate limits their aluminum-complexing potential in reservoirs at temperatures above 100 degrees C.
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Ronald K. Stoessell (1990) studied this question.